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Page 4 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanvillc, Wednesday, May 5,1999 Canadian tattiman m c Vi#k.V j Former Publishers and Partners Rev. John M. Climie and W. R. Climie 1854 -1878 M. A. James, 1878 -1935 • Norman S. B. James, 1919 -1929 G. Elena James, 1929 -1947 • Dr. George W. James, 1919 -1957 Produced weekly by James Publishing Company Limited Also Publishers of The Clarington! Courticc Independent P.O. Box 190,62 King St. W., Bowmanvillc, Ontario L1C 3K9 Tel: 905-623-3303 HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Fax: 905-623-6161 Internet - statesman@ocna.org Publications Mail Registration No. 07637 For 145 Years, Our First Concern Has Been Our Community Publisher - John M. James Assoc. Publisher - Rick James Plant Manager - Rick Patterson Ad. Manager - Brian G. Purdy Editor - Peter Parrott Production Supervisor - Ralph Rozema, Tim Bowers, Kevin Britton, Suzanne Christie, Sharon Cole, Roy Gray, Laurens Kaldeway, Steve Kraayvanger, Barb Patterson, Sean Pickard, Tyler Sellick, Jim Snoek, James Stephenson, Vance Sutherland, Matt Syer, Jim Tuuramo Advertising Editorial Terry Davey, Laverne Morrison Brad Kelly, Jennifer Stone, Michelle Wyton Office Supervisor-Angela Luscher, Junia Hodge, Grace McGregor, Nancy Pleasance-Sturman, Marilyn Rutherford, Michele Rutherford . Editorials Disaster Plan Needs Grassroots Input [■ Officials from the Munmipality of Clarington, Durham [Region, Darlington Nuclear Generating Station and the I Province of Onlai'io got together last week for a disaster Training exercise. . ;• They were reacting to a simulated accident at the [Darlington Nuclear Station resulting in the need to deploy [emergency personnel and evacuate citizens. But, clearly something was missing from the scenario. •\Ve are referring, of course, to members of the public. •[ It seems to us that this makes the exercise of limited '.value. It seems that, in the event of an emergency, the one 'thing you cannot count on is the proper functioning of big ^organizations and bureaucracies. They rely on communications communications and transportation systems which might be the first to [break down in the event of a disaster. - But, if individual members of the community have a vague idea of what to do, then we have a better chance of responding to the crisis. « Or, let's look at it this way: Fire departments recommend [a safety plan for individual home-owners so that they know [exactly what to do if a blaze breaks out in their house. Fire [departments recommend two routes of escape and a prof-arranged prof-arranged place for all occupants of the home to meet. And, Alley suggest that families rehearse their escape plan as a [precaution. 1 Fire departments do not recommend that individual «home-owners merely rely on professional emergency personnel personnel to undertake all of the necessary emergency drills 'and training. i Similarly, any kind of emergency planning for a disaster fat Darlington has to include rank-and-file citizens. < The response must be de-centralized because we cannot [ assume that all of the appropriate government agencies will [function. f[ ,If one out of every 100 citizens has a good idea of what So do in the' event of a Darlington emergency, they could "help their neighbours and generally ensure that citizens ^[stayed indoors, evacuated their homes, or responded in ►whatever manner is appropriate. P Exactly how to arrange such an exercise is a little more "difficult. f You could hardly stage a mock disaster with all of [Clarington's 75,000 citizens joining the exercise. [I However, one idea would be to seek volunteers who [might serve the same function as air raid wardens in the [Battle of Britain. They could be the first to co-ordinate [emergency actions in their neighbourhood. These volunteers volunteers could participate in the disaster drills and take their f knowledge back to their local communities. Service clubs or church and school groups might be Ï among the organizations with whom emergency planners "could consult and set up a grassroots system for coping with fan emergency. And, wc might add that emergency planning should not just cover a disaster at the nuclear station. Severe weather such as ice storms, hurricanes and floods are a much more realistic danger than is a nuclear disaster. In short, it doesn't really matter what kind of disaster plan is in place if wc never experience a disaster. But, it wc ever need to implement such a plan, then we'd better have some grassroots community support for whatever happens. That means more people in local communities must know what to do. That means everyday citizens must become a part of the process if disaster planning is to work. Mothers Day Twenty two million greeting cards will be presented to moms across Canada this Sunday. And that makes Mother's Day the third largest card-sending occasion of the year, according to Carlton Cards. In some literature from the company, the following Mother's Day facts arc also noted: Mother's Day is the second-largest gilt-giving day of the year and the leading day for long distance phone calls. The idea of honoring mothers actually began with a spring festival during the Roman era. It recognized the mother goddess, Cybele. This three-day festival was called Hilaria and it started on the Ides of March. Early Christians celebrated Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday in lent, in recognition of Mary, Mother of Christ. The first known suggestion for a tradition similar to the Mother's Day custom of this century came from Julie Ward 1-lowe, in 1872. She suggested a day of peace be recognized on June 2nd. However, the first modern-day observance of Mother's Day is believed to have been initiated by Anna Jarvis, of West Virginia. In 1907, she launched a campaign to establish establish a nation-wide day to honor mothers. She began her efforts on the second anniversary of the death of her own mother. Seven years later, the holiday became official in the United States. The first Mother's Day was recognized in 1914. In its thoughts on Mother's Day, the Carlton Cards reports that the kinds of greeting cards used for Mother's Day are changing with the changes occurring in lamilies. That means there are cards designed lor single and divorced moms, foster mothers, stepmoms, caregivers, guardians and anybody playing "motherly roles" in the lives ol children, And, to give a new twist to the tradition, the lamily pets are joining the celebration. Mother's Day cards Iront the family's dog or cat are also available and are among the topselling topselling humourous Mother's Day cards. One of these cards designed to he sent on behalf of the cat in the family depicts an independent feline proclaiming to Mom the "Top ID Reasons I But Up With You." It may not he a traditional Mother's Day salutation, Hut, as any Modi will tell you, "It's the thought that counts." THE CANATEX 3 DISASTER EXERCISE SETS OFF TO A POOR START Great Response to Refugee Appeal Dear Friends, Earlier this month, Kool Enterprises made a challenge to the citizens citizens of Clarington for collection of clothes, toiletries and children's children's toys for the Kosovar refugees. The response was unbelievable. unbelievable. This past Saturday wc took a cube van full of supplies supplies to CFB Borden. The organizers were extremely impressed and appreciative of the donations. Special commendation commendation should go to the following people: The staff, students and parents of Dr. Ross Tilley Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School for their amazing collection efforts; George Khouri of Landmark Furniture for collection and the donation of his cub van; Ron Collis of Collis and Reed Research and the Clarington Business Group for advertising the collection collection drive on the Business Group's Web page; and everyone who donated. For anyone that is holding a bag of clothes wondering where to donate it, please remember that there arc many people in this area who could use a helping hand. Sincerely, The gang at Kool In Praise Letter to the Editor Tyrone Not On Grand Trunk Railway Dear Editor; The attached clipping from page 27 of your recent publication "Retrospect - Celebrating Clarington's History" is submitted to point out an error. Tyrone was never a station on the Grand Trunk (not truck) Railway. About 1911 or 1912 the Canadian Northern Railway was built through the township of Darlington, about 3 miles north of Bowmanvillc, crossing Middle Road a short distance south of Concession Four Road. There was a station on the east side of Middle Road. The station was named "Bowmanvillc", that being the nearest town. Some lime later the name was changed to "Tyrone", because so many disgruntled passengers complained complained bitterly about the Bowmanvillc Station being so far out of town, ironically, the Village of Tyrone was farther north of the station than Bowmanvillc was south. At the present time, both the station and the railway are gone. There is nothing to indicate that a railway was ever there. The Grand Trunk Railway (on which Tyrone was alleged to have a station) is still in existence on the south side of Bowmanvillc where it has ever been since 1856. But now it is named Canadian National Railway. On page 41 of your recent publication there is an excellent picture of the Grand Trunk Bowmanvillc Station as I remember it. Of course it is gone now. Yours truly, Ross Pooley of Volunteers Thanks from Kidney Foundation Dear Mr. Parrott: On behalf of The Kidney Foundation of Canada's volunteers, patients and staff, I would like to thank you for promoting our March Drive Campaign. Your assistance in promoting our annual door-to-door campaign was invaluable. The impact of this public service announcement was two-fold. It increased public awareness and served • as a motivational tool for all our volunteers who work so tirelessly on this fundraising drive. As wc arc still in the process of tallying results, I cannot report on final proceeds. However, I can say that whatever successes successes wc achieved arc due partly to your support. Your willingness to help The Foundation made a difference to Canadians living with kidney disease and clearly showed your commitment to the community. Thank you for the support! Sincerely, Jennifer Pickup Fundraising/Communi cations Assistant Dear Edtior; Volunteer Recognition Week will be celebrated in Canada April 19- April 24. I would like to publicly recognize recognize and thank the Big Brothers, Mentors, Board and Committee Members of Big Brothers of Clarington. Your time and dedication to the agency and the children of your community is tremendous. tremendous. Without the support of our volunteers Big Brothers of Clarington could not continue to serve the children of Clarington. Thank you for sharing with the agency. Your kindness has allowed us to foster foster and establish friendships that arc so important to a child's life for so many years. Many organizations and agencies within Clarington. rely on volunteers and without them they could not exist. Thank you to all the volunteers in Clarington. Keep up the good work. I am proud to be a part of such a caring and giving community. community. You should be too. Sincerely, Jenny Walkout Executive Director Big Brothers of Clarington. Thoughts Unlimited -- by Rick James Winners and Losers With one week to go, it seems my darts have produced some winning winning picks in the stock market game. I'm still disappointed that no brokers were willing or interested to challenge my lucky darts picks, but the results to date show that playing the stock market is pretty much a gamble at the best of times. After three weeks, the results are... Name Shares Bought Current +A Black Swan Gold 3846 0.26 0.28 76.92 Co-Steel Inc. 95 10.5 14.4 370.5 Future Shop 85 11.75 11.9 12.75 Heritage Oil 1250 0.8 0.75 -62.5 Ncxfor Inc. 159 6.3 7.45 182.85 Tudor Corp 1538 0.65 1 538.3 1118.82 So, after three weeks, the return on our imaginary investment of $6,000 is just under 19%. Now let's sec, if wc want to really skew the numbers, lets divide that amount by the three weeks we've been playing the game ($372.94), then multiply the results by 52 ($19,392.88) to create a annualized return on investment. Now that's impressive! I made close to $20,000 on a $6,000 investment. If that reckless strategy doesn't attract some harsh comments from financial consultants, I will be really disappointed. "M" is for Mother It's the second Sunday in May which means it's time to honour all those Mothers out there who have the patience to deal with screaming kids, busy jobs, dirty laundry and belly-scralchin', beer- guzzlin' husbands. Sound like a typical day in our household. Although it is a day for children to honour their Moms, husbands husbands are probably the biggest pain in the backside for most Mothers. So, to help everyone better understand the way the male mind works, I've included this list of translations. It will help avoid any confusion or confrontation when hubby announces lie's busy on Mother's Day. For example... "I'M GOING FISHING" means 'Tin going to drink myself dangerously stupid, and stand by a stream with a stick in my hand, while the fish swim by in complete salely," "IT'S A GUY THING" means "There is no rational thought pattern connected with it, and you have no chance at all of making it logical." "CAN IHELP WITH DINNER?" means "Why isn't it already on the table?" "UH HUH", "SURE, HONEY", OR "YES, DEAR" means "Absolutely nothing. It's a conditioned response." "IT WOULD TAKE T OO LONG TO EXPLAIN" means "I have no idea how it works." "I WAS LISTENING TO YOU, IT'S JUST THAT I HAVE THINGS ON MY MIND." means "I was wondering if that redhead redhead over there plays golf." "TAKE A BREAK HONEY, YOU'RE WORKING TOO HARD", means "I can't hear the game over the vacuum cleaner." "THAT'S INTERESTING, DEAR." means "Are you still talking?" "YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS." means "I remember the theme song to l F Troop', the address of the first girl I ever kissed and the vehicle identification numbers of every car I've ever owned, but 1 forgot your birthday." "I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU, AND GOT YOU THESE ROSES", means "The girl selling them on the corner was a real babe." "OH, DON'T FUSS.* I JUST CUT MYSELF, ITS NO BIG DEAL." means "I have actually severed a limb, but will bleed to death before 1 admit that I'm hurt." "HEY, I'VE GOT MY REASONS FOR WIIAT I'M DOING".means "And I sure hope I think of some pretty soon." "I CAN'T FIND IT." means "It didn't fall into my outstretched outstretched hands, so I'm completely clueless." "WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?" means "What did you catch me at?" "I HEARD YOU." means "I haven't the foggiest clue what you just said, and am hoping desperately that 1 can fake it well enough so that you don't spend the next 3 days yelling at me." "YOU KNOW 1 COULD NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE." means"! am used to the way you yell at me, and realize it could he worse." "I'M NOT LOST.* I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE." means "No one will ever see us alive again." "WE SHARE THE HOUSEWORK." means"! make the messes, she cleans them up." And, of course, my favourite is... "YOU LOOK TERRIFIC." means "Oh, God, please don't try on one more outfit, I'm starving." Happy Mother's Day.